Stanford Men and Women Dominate Over Arizona

PALO ALTO, California, January 24. THE Stanford Cardinal men’s and women’s teams breezed through today’s dual meet against Arizona, getting crucial wins in several events from top-end talent as well as from teammates that put the meet away early.

The Stanford men won their meet with a score of 185-xxx, while Stanford’s women’s team put up a 157-138 win.

One of the key swims for the Stanford women’s team came in the 200 free, as Lia Neal kept Margo Geer at bay with a winning time of 1:47.06 to Geer’s 1:47.20. With Neal ranked third in the collegiate ranks this season and Geer 11th, perhaps the win should not be a surprise, though Neal had not been putting up fast in-season swims. Her best 200 free outside of the 1:43.86 she swam in December was a 1:49.40. Geer would get skunked by Stanford again in the 50 free, one of her NCAA title events. Maddy Schaefer won that today with a 22.24 to Geer’s 22.85. Geer would get her revenge in the 100 free, beating Schaefer and Neal with a 49.26. Schaefer was second with a 49.34 and Neal took third with a 49.52.

Felicia Lee continued a strong season with two more wins in the 100 back and 100 fly. She took the backstroke race with a 53.68 (one of a few 1-2-3 finishes for the Cardinal) and won the sprint fly with a 53.36.

Maya DiRado was fastest in two of her top events as well, taking the 200 fly with a 1:5740 and posting the fastest time in the 400 IM with a 4:12.75. The 400 IM was the final individual event of the day, and with the meet victory assured, DiRado’s swim was done as exhibition.

Arizona had some highlights – three of them, in fact – from Bonnie Brandon, who won three events. She posted a 9:47.52 in the 1000 free, her fastest of the season by eight seconds. She needed that time to keep Stanford’s Andie Taylor from winning, as the Cardinal senior placed second with a 9:48.10. Brandon won the 200 back later with a 1:57.06, faster than the 1:57.86 Missy Franklin swam a few miles away in Berkeley earlier today. Also swimming faster than Franklin was Stanford’s Annemarie Thayer, who was second with a 1:57.35. Brandon’s final event was the 500 free, and she held off fast-charging teammate Tjasa Oder in the final yards, posting a 4:52.28 to Oder’s 4:52.95.

Also winning multiple events was Stanford’s Katie Olsen, who took the 100 breast with a 1:00.41 and the 200 breast in 2:11.96.

The men’s meet had two of the top swimmers in Division I trying to give their teams the most points possible. Arizona’s Kevin Cordes and Stanford’s David Nolan both won two individual events and were each part of a winning relay, but it was Stanford’s depth, especially in freestyle, that secured the win.

After popping a 52.98 breaststroke split on Arizona’s winning 400 medley relay, Cordes cruised to wins in the 100 breast with a 53.44 and 20 breast with a 1:57.70.

For Nolan, he captured the 100 back (one of his two NCAA title events) in 47.97 and led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 free with a 44.34. It’s the first individual 100 free Nolan has swum this season, and one of his best in-season swims. It’s likely that he’ll choose the 200 back at the NCAA instead of the 100 free, but he could be a key part of Stanford’s free relays. That was evident in the 200 free relay to close the meet, where Nolan split a 19.79.

The other double winner in the men’s meet was Stanford’s Danny Thomson, who posted a 9:16.79 in the 1000 free to lead a 1-2-3 finish, and a 4:27.03 in the 500 free to guide Stanford to another 1-2-3 sweep.

Other wins for the Stanford men include: Tom Kremer in the 200 fly (1:47.13), Connor Black in the 100 fly (48.18) and Max Williamson in the 400 IM (3:51.58). Kristian Ipsen, as expected, won both springboard diving events.

Besides Cordes, Arizona picked up wins from Brian Stevens in the 50 free with a 19.99 and Michael Sheppard in the 200 back (1:47.70).

Author: Jeff Commings

Jeff Commings is the host of several shows on SwimmingWorld.TV, including "The Morning Swim Show," which features interviews with people making headlines in aquatic sports. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism and was a nine-time NCAA All-American.